Wild at Heart–Reviewed
May 25, 2009
Men don’t read. Or so they say. And yet here’s this book for men that has sold more than 2 million copies–and counting. Something is going on here.
For our local chapter of Band of Brothers, Wild at Heart has been the transformational book of the year–the catalyst for many of us getting our hearts back.
I’ve had mixed feelings about reviewing this book, because by doing so, I run the risk of drying it out like a raisin. Of making it sound like some sort of essay, which of course it is not. In fact, it’s not so much a book as it is a doorway into an experience. An experience that is best shared with a group of men, rather than in fits of solo self-scrutiny. I know this from experience. I read the book alone when it first came out and I remember thinking “wow, um, this is too big for me”. The larger story of Christianity, and of my own heart, was too explosive for me to handle in a vacuum. And at the time, I was trying to make myself bullet proof in medical school. I certainly wasn’t into being vulnerable with other guys. So, I set the book aside.
Now, years later, tears later, it’s finally all sinking in with help from Band of Brothers. (More about my story in a minute) This is, in my opinion, the only way to go through Eldredge’s material. Never drink alone. Never think alone.
Rather than doing violence to the book with a point by point review, I prefer John’s own words, which capture the book’s inspirational tone and message in a nutshell:
There is something fierce, passionate, and wild in the heart of every man. That is how he bears the image of God. And the reason most men “live lives of quiet desperation” (Thoreau) is because men have been told that the reason God put them on earth is to be a good boy. To be nice. But every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.
Bottom line: A man bears the image of God as a man. Not as a woman. And among other things, God is a warrior. (Yep. Try reading the Old Testament without that in mind.) And among other things, God has also filled His sons’ hearts with a thirst for adventure, that they might fill the earth and subdue it and become oaks of righteousness in the land. And at this juncture in history, God’s strength appears to have been spilled out for one spectacular purpose only…to rescue the beauty, His bride, the Church. And so our longings as men are no accident. They are part of our spiritual DNA. We bear His image. We echo the Wild One in whose image we are made.
C.S. Lewis nails it down in this scene from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Lucy faces the prospect of meeting Aslan (Jesus) for the first time. And she is scared.
“Is He–quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most, or else just silly.”
“Then He isn’t safe,” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course He isn’t safe. But He’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Yes. He’s the King. And we are chips off the old block. Dangerous for good. That is man fully alive. That is the warrior poet. That is King David. The man after God’s own heart. That is the story we are invited up into. It’s the story our hearts have been whispering to us since we were boys. The eternal invitation. Society cannot eradicate it. And the Enemy’s loathing can only deface it. The image can be maligned and misshapen–until a man sees himself through a glass darkly, like a ghastly image in a funhouse mirror–but the image can never be fully destroyed. It will keep surfacing throughout a man’s life–to be healed–or to be wounded again. It all depends on how a man handles, or mishandles his heart.
And success will require something we often miss, or evade: masculine initiation–from Our Father. And from each other. This is what Wild at Heart is all about.
Back to my story. I had to come to the end of my mind before I could come to the beginning of my heart. And at such a crossroads, Wild at Heart and Band of Brothers were there to make sure I didn’t drift too far from the image of God. They were there to bring that image into sharper focus–to keep me from melting away into the seductive, washed-out pastels of some postmodern facsimile. That’s what friends are for.
And now it’s your turn. Let the adventure begin…at the beginning. The place where we all come to in the end; our wounds, our healing, our hearts. As men.
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to read the rest from this author. Marc is a local writer, musician, and physician. He is a regular contributor to ConneXions and has written reviews for Spectrum: Adventist Forum. He loves words and music, windsurfing, and going on adventures with Janine and the kids.(Read more from this author) 
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Mark,
Wow, powerful words. You did a really nice job with this review. As someone who attended most of the Wild at Heart sessions with the Band of Brothers, I can say that this book and group session has something for every man out there. Anyone willing to be honest with himself and open will benefit from these teachings. I have been moved and changed and am grateful for the opportunity.
Thanks – Bill L
This is also a great book for wives and mommies of BOYS to read!!! Great book!